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Today in Kyiv Kreschaty park under the Peoples Friendship Arch the Ukrainian sports fans sent off the National Youth Team to its first Olympic trial.

In a week Singapore will welcome the Ist Youth Olympic Games, which participants will be about 3 600 the world's best young athletes aged 14-18. Among them are 55 young Ukrainians who will compete for Olympic medals in 18 of the 26 sports.

Not only the fierce sports battles but exciting events of the Cultural and Educational program, which distinguishes the Youth Olympics from the traditional – for "adults", are waiting for them in Singapore. Aiming to unite young people around the Olympic principles of Perfection, Friendship and Respect as well as to help young athletes to succeed in sport and in life, the International Olympic Committee in cooperation with the SYOGOC has developed seven interesting formats of the program, which participants will be all Olympians without any exception.

On August 14 in honour of the opening of the Youth Forum the Olympic flame will be lit in the bowl of floating stadium The Float @ Marina Bay in Singapore. Today, in a sign of unity of the Olympic movement worldwide symbolic Olympic flame was lit in Kyiv - in the Glory Park from the eternal flame at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, signifying beginning of the final phase of the Ukrainian action "Hand the Flame of Victory!". The flamebearers who came to the capital from all regions of Ukraine, delivered the flame in Khreschaty park where at the send-off ceremony it was handed over to the Young Ambassador of Ukraine for the Ist Youth Olympic Games, an Olympic champion in wrestling Irina Merleni.

The Ukrainian pop stars Mika Newton, “Tanok na Maidani Congo”(Dance at Congo Square), “Briats-Band” and “Foresight” ballet group helped make the sporting event, organized by the National Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Ukraine for Family, Youth and Sports to honor young Ukrainian Olympians, really unique. Among the guests of honor there were the NOC President Sergey Bubka, the Minister of Ukraine for Family, Youth and Sports Ravil Safiullin and the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Committee for Family, Youth, Sports and Tourism Pavlo Kostenko, who wished the young athletes a successful performance in Singapore and read out greeting letters from the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, the Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn. On the NOC of Ukraine invitation the send-off ceremony was attended by the members of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council, which meeting is held in Kyiv.